15 Awesome Science Crowdfunding Campaigns You Can Donate To Now

1. Makey Makey Go

Using a simple alligator clip, circuit board and a USB input, this handy little device can turn anything that holds an electrical current into a keyboard. Then you can set up custom commands, such as "Press 'enter' every time I touch the doughnut," "Take a photo every time we high-five" or "Call me on Skype whenever my dog taps a piece of foil."

It's a neat little invention and a great way to get kids into thinking of new solutions to everyday problems.

2. Bill Nye's LightSail

The Science Guy is back, now with a Kickstarter for LightSail, an ultra minimalist space craft concept that uses sunlight as its power source. Once launched, the LightSail can simply waft through space like a sailboat, collecting data and traveling farther away from Earth than any human-made spacecraft ever has...at an extremely low cost, to boot.

Plus, it's Bill Nye. I figure everyone who grew up watching him owes him at least a few bucks for his time.

4. Rokit Smart: The Educational Robot Kit

Rokit Smart is a kit full of parts for kids to build their own personal, programmable robot. The set comes with instructions for building 12 different, fully-controllable bots, or you can just start connecting wheels and circuits to see what kind of crazy stuff you can make.

Basically, it's the K'Nex set you always wished you could have when you were a kid.

5. The World's First Privately-Funded Lunar Probe

Penn State University students want to launch a probe on the moon. It's a huge undertaking, as no private entity has every landed a lunar spacecraft before. If they make it there, it'll be a huge step forward in citizen exploration.

6. Arctic Ocean Sea Ice

We're reminded over and over again how crucial our polar ice caps are but, for all that talk, there's surprisingly little information about the actual conditions of the North Pole. The reason? It's really hard for scientists to get there.

This "citizen science" Kickstarter project was established to fund four data-collecting trips to the North Pole so we can better understand its depth, melt rate and salinity. Plus, it'll probably put you on Santa's good side.

7. Oakland's Public Science Lab

"Biohacking" is a relatively new trend. In short, it's the creation of an independent, DIY biology lab, usually funded by a community collective...and it's an incredible resource for a budding scientist without resources.

Oakland has a growing biohacking community, but they need our help to get it all up-to-date.

Listen, the city's had some tough times. They haven't made it to the World Series in 25 years. Let them at least have a science lab.

9. The Space Coffee Cup

Until recently, astronauts in outer space would drink through straws out of plastic pouches. But, when the Italians sent an espresso machine to the International Space Station, the idea of enjoying such a fine and complex beverage through a straw just seemed...wrong.

So, these guys made the perfect cup for drinking in zero gravity, specially designed so the liquid stays where it's supposed to. Right now, only six of these cups exist in the world, and three of them are in outer space. If you ever want one for yourself, you're going to need to go through this Kickstarter.

10. Kittybiome: A Kitty Genome Project

Ever just stare at your cat and wonder, "What's your deal, cat?" Well, kittybiome is here to help, by studying its microbiome.

What's that? The microbiome is the population of more than 100 trillion microorganisms that live in the gut, mouth, ears, noses, etc.

This massive project wants to enlist backers to participate by sampling their own cat's microbiome. By pairing that information with details of your furry friend's temperament, kittybiome hopes to reveal new insights into cat behavior and biology. Who knows? There might even be a biological reason as to what makes Grumpy Cat so...grumpy.

11. HidrateMe Smart Water Bottle

Everybody always says you should drink more water. It's good for you, or something. But it's hard to keep track of exactly how much you're glugging down. That's where HidrateMe comes in. It's a water bottle that syncs to your phone vial Bluetooth and keeps track of your daily intake (via sensors that tell the bottle how much liquid remains).

12. Vortex Bladeless Wind Turbines

Harnessing wind energy is great, but the spinning blades of wind turbines can represent hazards for birds and other local wildlife, not to mention some serious noise pollution. That's where the Vortex comes in. It's a single pillar that collects energy through vibrations caused by the wind, thus being safer for birds, and at the same time using fewer materials and running quieter.

The Vortex may just be a game-changer in the world of clean energy solutions.

13. Women in Science Card Game

Benoit Fries wanted to encourage his daughter to pursue a career in science, but then found himself struggling to name more than a handful of actual female scientists of note. That's what prompted him to create the Women in Science Card Game, a Go Fish-style game where the goal is to collect scientists of the same specialty in order to form a "lab."

It's simple, fun and, best of all, 20% of the profits will be donated to an organization that promotes women in science.

15. Portable Wind Turbine

Don't you hate it when you're out camping, presumably to "be at one with nature," only to suddenly realize that you loathe nature? Thankfully, you brought along your RMRDTECH portable wind turbine!

With its easy to assemble design, made up of interchangeable, 3D printed parts, just a slight breeze will be enough to power and charge your phone for the grueling, remaining days of "finding yourself" you have on this godforsaken camping trip.

15 Awesome Science Crowdfunding Campaigns You Can Donate To Now

1. Makey Makey Go

Using a simple alligator clip, circuit board and a USB input, this handy little device can turn anything that holds an electrical current into a keyboard. Then you can set up custom commands, such as "Press 'enter' every time I touch the doughnut," "Take a photo every time we high-five" or "Call me on Skype whenever my dog taps a piece of foil."

It's a neat little invention and a great way to get kids into thinking of new solutions to everyday problems.

2. Bill Nye's LightSail

The Science Guy is back, now with a Kickstarter for LightSail, an ultra minimalist space craft concept that uses sunlight as its power source. Once launched, the LightSail can simply waft through space like a sailboat, collecting data and traveling farther away from Earth than any human-made spacecraft ever has...at an extremely low cost, to boot.

Plus, it's Bill Nye. I figure everyone who grew up watching him owes him at least a few bucks for his time.

4. Rokit Smart: The Educational Robot Kit

Rokit Smart is a kit full of parts for kids to build their own personal, programmable robot. The set comes with instructions for building 12 different, fully-controllable bots, or you can just start connecting wheels and circuits to see what kind of crazy stuff you can make.

Basically, it's the K'Nex set you always wished you could have when you were a kid.

15 Awesome Science Crowdfunding Campaigns You Can Donate To Now

1. Makey Makey Go

Using a simple alligator clip, circuit board and a USB input, this handy little device can turn anything that holds an electrical current into a keyboard. Then you can set up custom commands, such as "Press 'enter' every time I touch the doughnut," "Take a photo every time we high-five" or "Call me on Skype whenever my dog taps a piece of foil."

It's a neat little invention and a great way to get kids into thinking of new solutions to everyday problems.

2. Bill Nye's LightSail

The Science Guy is back, now with a Kickstarter for LightSail, an ultra minimalist space craft concept that uses sunlight as its power source. Once launched, the LightSail can simply waft through space like a sailboat, collecting data and traveling farther away from Earth than any human-made spacecraft ever has...at an extremely low cost, to boot.

Plus, it's Bill Nye. I figure everyone who grew up watching him owes him at least a few bucks for his time.

4. Rokit Smart: The Educational Robot Kit

Rokit Smart is a kit full of parts for kids to build their own personal, programmable robot. The set comes with instructions for building 12 different, fully-controllable bots, or you can just start connecting wheels and circuits to see what kind of crazy stuff you can make.

Basically, it's the K'Nex set you always wished you could have when you were a kid.

15 Awesome Science Crowdfunding Campaigns You Can Donate To Now

1. Makey Makey Go

Using a simple alligator clip, circuit board and a USB input, this handy little device can turn anything that holds an electrical current into a keyboard. Then you can set up custom commands, such as "Press 'enter' every time I touch the doughnut," "Take a photo every time we high-five" or "Call me on Skype whenever my dog taps a piece of foil."

It's a neat little invention and a great way to get kids into thinking of new solutions to everyday problems.

2. Bill Nye's LightSail

The Science Guy is back, now with a Kickstarter for LightSail, an ultra minimalist space craft concept that uses sunlight as its power source. Once launched, the LightSail can simply waft through space like a sailboat, collecting data and traveling farther away from Earth than any human-made spacecraft ever has...at an extremely low cost, to boot.

Plus, it's Bill Nye. I figure everyone who grew up watching him owes him at least a few bucks for his time.

4. Rokit Smart: The Educational Robot Kit

Rokit Smart is a kit full of parts for kids to build their own personal, programmable robot. The set comes with instructions for building 12 different, fully-controllable bots, or you can just start connecting wheels and circuits to see what kind of crazy stuff you can make.

Basically, it's the K'Nex set you always wished you could have when you were a kid.

5. The World's First Privately-Funded Lunar Probe

Penn State University students want to launch a probe on the moon. It's a huge undertaking, as no private entity has every landed a lunar spacecraft before. If they make it there, it'll be a huge step forward in citizen exploration.

6. Arctic Ocean Sea Ice

We're reminded over and over again how crucial our polar ice caps are but, for all that talk, there's surprisingly little information about the actual conditions of the North Pole. The reason? It's really hard for scientists to get there.

This "citizen science" Kickstarter project was established to fund four data-collecting trips to the North Pole so we can better understand its depth, melt rate and salinity. Plus, it'll probably put you on Santa's good side.

7. Oakland's Public Science Lab

"Biohacking" is a relatively new trend. In short, it's the creation of an independent, DIY biology lab, usually funded by a community collective...and it's an incredible resource for a budding scientist without resources.

Oakland has a growing biohacking community, but they need our help to get it all up-to-date.

Listen, the city's had some tough times. They haven't made it to the World Series in 25 years. Let them at least have a science lab.

9. The Space Coffee Cup

Until recently, astronauts in outer space would drink through straws out of plastic pouches. But, when the Italians sent an espresso machine to the International Space Station, the idea of enjoying such a fine and complex beverage through a straw just seemed...wrong.

So, these guys made the perfect cup for drinking in zero gravity, specially designed so the liquid stays where it's supposed to. Right now, only six of these cups exist in the world, and three of them are in outer space. If you ever want one for yourself, you're going to need to go through this Kickstarter.

10. Kittybiome: A Kitty Genome Project

Ever just stare at your cat and wonder, "What's your deal, cat?" Well, kittybiome is here to help, by studying its microbiome.

What's that? The microbiome is the population of more than 100 trillion microorganisms that live in the gut, mouth, ears, noses, etc.

This massive project wants to enlist backers to participate by sampling their own cat's microbiome. By pairing that information with details of your furry friend's temperament, kittybiome hopes to reveal new insights into cat behavior and biology. Who knows? There might even be a biological reason as to what makes Grumpy Cat so...grumpy.

11. HidrateMe Smart Water Bottle

Everybody always says you should drink more water. It's good for you, or something. But it's hard to keep track of exactly how much you're glugging down. That's where HidrateMe comes in. It's a water bottle that syncs to your phone vial Bluetooth and keeps track of your daily intake (via sensors that tell the bottle how much liquid remains).

12. Vortex Bladeless Wind Turbines

Harnessing wind energy is great, but the spinning blades of wind turbines can represent hazards for birds and other local wildlife, not to mention some serious noise pollution. That's where the Vortex comes in. It's a single pillar that collects energy through vibrations caused by the wind, thus being safer for birds, and at the same time using fewer materials and running quieter.

The Vortex may just be a game-changer in the world of clean energy solutions.

13. Women in Science Card Game

Benoit Fries wanted to encourage his daughter to pursue a career in science, but then found himself struggling to name more than a handful of actual female scientists of note. That's what prompted him to create the Women in Science Card Game, a Go Fish-style game where the goal is to collect scientists of the same specialty in order to form a "lab."

It's simple, fun and, best of all, 20% of the profits will be donated to an organization that promotes women in science.

15. Portable Wind Turbine

Don't you hate it when you're out camping, presumably to "be at one with nature," only to suddenly realize that you loathe nature? Thankfully, you brought along your RMRDTECH portable wind turbine!

With its easy to assemble design, made up of interchangeable, 3D printed parts, just a slight breeze will be enough to power and charge your phone for the grueling, remaining days of "finding yourself" you have on this godforsaken camping trip.